Employment outcomes for fresh graduates remain strong: Tan See Leng
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Manpower Minister Tan See Leng noted that fresh graduate employment remains strong but labour market tightness may ease.
ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH
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SINGAPORE – Job prospects for fresh graduates from universities, polytechnics and the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) remain strong, said Manpower Minister Tan See Leng on Nov 22.
He told Parliament that while there is no specific data on job openings for fresh graduates, including those who have just completed national service, their employment remains strong, according to an annual study.
The Graduate Employment Survey found that about 90 per cent of the job-hunting cohort from 2022 found work within six months of their graduation, with 80 per cent in full-time permanent jobs, comparable to pre-Covid-19 levels.
Dr Tan, who was responding to questions from Ms Nadia Ahmad Samdin (Ang Mo Kio GRC), added that the remaining 20 per cent in part-time, temporary or freelance work were mostly in such roles by choice, as most wanted to further their studies.
The survey does not collect information on contractual jobs, as full-time permanent employment includes contracts that last a year or more.
Dr Tan noted in reply to Ms Nadia’s question on the impact of worsened business expectations on fresh graduates that the overall labour market remains tight, even though hiring sentiment dipped in the third quarter of 2023.
The number of job vacancies dropped to 87,900 as at June 2023 while the ratio of vacancies to unemployed persons stood at 1.94.
“We have been highlighting the downward trend in terms of the job vacancies because of the tougher, uncertain economic outlook that’s facing us, and with the economic headwinds in the next few quarters,” said Dr Tan.
“We will continue to closely monitor the situation, and we will stand ready to assist our graduates.”
Ms Nadia also asked about under-employment figures.
Dr Tan replied that the figures for time-related under-employment – this refers to those working under 35 hours a week but are willing to engage in more work – stand at only around 3 per cent for Singapore residents and just 1.9 per cent for fresh graduates.
He added that there are a slew of programmes to support fresh graduates, ranging from career counselling at universities to work-study programmes for new polytechnic and ITE graduates, to career-matching services.
Dr Tan also warned: “But notwithstanding that, we anticipate this tightness to ease in terms of the labour situation, because of the uncertainties that we are entering into over the next one to two quarters.”
